


Exploring

by lightwoodsaves



Series: Kakashi's Guide to Loving his Woman [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Age Difference, Awkward Romance, F/M, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:40:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23841631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightwoodsaves/pseuds/lightwoodsaves
Summary: Kakashi discovers the pleasures of being with the woman he loves.  After all, she is stunning. Shirts come off and so do inhibitions.Just Kakashi being tongue-tied in front of a Sakura who just might understand him a bit too well.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Hatake Kakashi
Series: Kakashi's Guide to Loving his Woman [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1717969
Comments: 19
Kudos: 122





	Exploring

**Author's Note:**

> Not a drabble but since you all liked my first work, I thought I would write one more.

When Kakashi thought he was surprised that Sakura asked if he would want to date her, he was underplaying his emotions. After all, the whole of Konoha knew Sakura. To date her would mean a lot of people getting mad at him if he messed up. Although that was rich, considering that he had managed to slightly piss off everyone with his habits.

Walking on the street with a questionable book in hand.

Perpetual tardiness.

The seeming lack of care visible on his face.

He would be fine. Maybe.

But he couldn't believe his luck when they continued this little fancy for over 4 months. Kakashi knew he liked Sakura, he wasn't going to disagree with that. She was everything that he had ever wanted. Smart, strong and beautiful. While he agreed that this dalliance, although was something more recent, he couldn't deny that he cared for the girl. She was pure, inside and out.

Kakashi flicked a stone out of his path as he walked her back to her apartment after dinner. It wasn't anything special or extraordinary, just a regular dinner with friends after a mission. He had been happy to see her that morning, as she had bounded over to the training grounds right after she submitted her report. She hadn't said much when she left, but with the hushed tones and the continuous letters to Gaara from Naruto left him assuming that the young Kazekage had been sick. It made sense that they wanted to keep it a secret and judging the time she had been in Sand Country, it was possible that it was quite serious.

Nevertheless, she had tackled him to the ground and he hadn't said much as she proceeded to rant about how hot the deserts were and that his skin was clammy. Kakashi hadn't minded. He had been too busy taking her slender body into his arms to nuzzle his nose into her shoulder.

Which is exactly why he did a double-take when she said something to him when they reached her doorway.

“Maybe spend some time with me for a bit? Temari gave me a bottle of wine that I want to try.”

Kakashi blinked at her for a few seconds before he could muster up his senses to nod at her.

He saw her eyes light up as she leaned in to peck him on the cheek. He could feel his mask become rather hot with the breaths he hadn't known he had been letting out.

It is just Sakura. Calm down. After all, it was just a kiss. Kami, he had kissed her before so why was something as innocent making his stomach jump to his throat? 

The last time, she had tasted like strawberries and a flavour that he couldn't quite place but something that made him go lightheaded. 

Kakashi glanced down at her mouth and back at her eyes to only see her laugh and tuck a strand of his hair behind his ear. She stood there for a moment, her face faintly lit by the dim streetlamp before stepping away from him to unlock the door.

Sakura walked in, untying the scarf around her neck before shrugging out of the coat she had worn to keep the nippy night air from biting her skin. Kakashi followed her in to stand right in front of the door after he had closed it, watching her move around her place. It wasn't anything he hadn't seen before. Her house was immaculately clean but it wasn't anything like his place. His house barely had anything, except his books, bed and desk. Hell, the only personal thing he had was probably a few letters and trinkets his friends had given him.

Meanwhile, Sakura's house had her name written over every inch. The medical files arranged on the small coffee table, Naruto's shirt kept on the washing machine with her clothes, a rack of weapons, hung up neatly in their cases on the wall and the pictures of her family and friends in Konoha. Kakashi had been proud that she had recently framed a picture they had taken together at the Spring Festival a month ago. She had insisted on him dressing up for her to see him in something other than training clothes and he had obliged grudgingly. Now, he supposed that she had been thinking right when he looked at the picture, with her arms around his neck and looking at the camera.

Even he looked like he had life in his body, against his constant slouch through the day. He could see the difference in the way his shoulders looked a lot less guarded when she was around. Sakura had punched her way through to his heart. He truly appreciated that.

He didn't realize that Sakura had walked back to him until she tugged at the gloves on his hands. Maybe he was zoning out a bit too much today. She gently eased the bands off his wrist before slipping the fabric off his hands to drop it on the floor. The metal armour gave a faint clank but Kakashi was too busy taking her cold hands into his to warm them up. He heard Sakura sigh as she pushed his hands away to reach for the coat he had been wearing. She helped him shrug out of it, leaving him in a navy button-down shirt and black slacks, something she had gotten him when he insisted on taking her shopping for her birthday, ironically.

“I can put on a movie if you don't have anything to do tomorrow. I don't exactly want you to be late for anything.”

Kakashi heard her say the line and laugh to herself. Everyone in the village knew about his habit of being perpetually unpunctual but he had surprised her. He made sure that he showed up for every date before the decided time and Sakura hadn't been able to mask the astonishment. But the light dusting of pink on her cheeks when he said that she wasn't everybody had been encouraging enough for him to ask her if she wanted to go on a second date.

He nodded and sat down on her couch easing up the sleeves to his elbow. He had done this before. Although they had been dating only for a few months, he was accustomed to watching movies with her. The first time, she didn't want to spook him too much so she had made it a double date when she invited Genma and Shizune too. They had fun and Kakashi was happy to have his friend nearby but when Sakura waltzed in with a tub of ice cream and sat incredibly close to him, he could barely focus on what played on the screen as he zeroed down on the feeling of her leg pressed up against his own.

He was so screwed. For a man who read so much, Kakashi couldn't use his words around her in a way that it would make sense.

But they would sit and talk endlessly into the night, either on her couch, on her rooftop or at his place. Sakura would tell him about all her patients in the hospital, Naruto's most recent gaffe or just try studying his Sharingan. And Kakashi would be a liar if he didn't think of asking her to just sit on his lap to get a better view of it. But he never did as he sat indulgently on her couch which she perched on her coffee table.

For someone who held so much power, drive and tenacity, Sakura's hands felt small and fragile in his own. It mystified him to no end. When he told Naruto that he had gone on a date with her, Naruto had warned him that Sakura would always do what she wanted and no one except Tsunade had ever changed her mind. She was known for getting her way with things and bulldozing past everyone else's demands if she wanted something.

So it came to him as a surprise when she always seemed to ask him what he wanted to do.

Would you like to go to the Spring Festival with me? 

Would you dance with me, Kakashi?

Could I kiss you?

Kakashi knew that people weren't perfect but Sakura was quite close.

He knew that most people of Sakura's age would prefer him to take things faster but with the way she behaved around him, it felt liberating that she let him set the pace. She didn't push him to do anything. And with all the people in the village telling him what to do, it was a nice change.

He watched as she moved around to grab a pair of glasses for the two of them, her red skirt swaying to the gentle breeze that came in through her kitchen window. Her white shirt seemed radiant in the soft moonlight and if he looked any longer, he was sure he would be able to make out the silhouette of her body in it. Her pink hair had been pulled up into a small twisty bun with a line of white flowers to the side while she had a light lining of black around her green eyes. Kakashi also knew that if he did kiss her, her pupils dilated so much that her emerald green turned murky.

Hell, she was even wearing the small charm bracelet he had won for her at the Spring Festival.

Kakashi would be lying through his teeth if he said that he didn't find that endearing.

Compared to her, he looked like he had thrown on the first thing he could find from his cupboard. Not that he didn't make an effort to look good for her, but it just seemed like no matter what he wore, he would always feel underdressed when she stood next to him.

Sakura walked over to him and Kakashi felt his heart skip a beat. He wondered if Sakura's heart did that too, with all the mushy brain thoughts and the butterflies in your stomach. Maybe she was used to the butterflies or she never got them because she was so confident?

What if she didn't feel the excitement he did? Or if she normally did have so much going on that she didn't feel the rush anymore? She was young and one of the most well-known women in the village. She worked with a lot of people in the hospital that she was bound to get some man fall for her because she had taken care of him. She probably had guys her age vying for her attention.

He had nothing going on except the routine missions and the occasional reading. He was known for being a recluse.

What if he was keeping her away from all of it? What if he was boring her?

He had interesting stories, Kakashi would give himself that. But with a person like Sakura, stories weren't exactly much. She had her own too. He knew because she talked about all that she did and every time, he couldn't hold back his awe as she explained what she worked on every day. It had taken time for him to open up and accept her as a partner when all that he had done before was stand as her commanding officer and team leader. He began talking to her about what he had been thinking and his responses became a bit more than a few words long. He liked seeing her light up when he did voluntarily talk to her and he found that he liked her attention on him. Her eyes would meet his with a flash of concentration and she always knew what to ask him to make him cough on his drink because it was almost always suggestive. Especially when her foot dragged against his calves under the table.

No complaints.

Sakura was a breath of fresh air in his life. What did she see in him?

Once, they had gone for a date at a new Peruvian restaurant that had opened in the village when he had come in his usual jounin uniform, headband and kunai knives complete. He had his gloves off, sure but when he saw her walk in, dressed in a dark blue dress that hugged her in all the right places, he knew he was done for.

Seriously, what was she doing with him? He had the mask game going for him but that didn't exactly mean that he was interesting. He was just dull.

Kakashi shook his head, clearing his thoughts as she handed him a glass filled with the rich red wine from the Sand. She proceeded to fill her own before she sat down next to him, reaching for his hand to guide it around her shoulders. Kakashi was more than happy to oblige as he wrapped it around her, while she snuggled up closer to his chest.

Was it just him or could she hear his heart pounding too?

“The Sand Village is one of the most irritating places I've ever been to,” she declared as she swirled her glass gently. “I don't mind the people, they were nice enough that they invited me to their festival but the thing about a desert is that there are dust particles everywhere. It didn't matter what I did or how many times I washed up. The sand would never go.” she continued as Kakashi listened to her, a small smile on his face.

“But you did enjoy their puppet festival. You told me that you got a small one that looked like me too,” he reminded her quietly as she laughed.

“Yes! There was one place where we could make small dolls so I thought I would get you something. Besides, if you didn't like it, I would have kept it because it looked like you.” Sakura had taken to pulling on his fingers on the hand he had wrapped around her.

“I couldn't take the heat at all. If Temari hadn't dunked me in her sunscreen, I am sure that I would have come back as red as this skirt.” Kakashi's eyes gently glanced at the said skirt to smile.

“That does remind me, how would you have your mask on if it was so hot?” Kakashi rolled his eyes at the question. She had been the only person to have seen him without it and he knew that she liked teasing him that she would pull it down to kiss him on the streets someday.

“Well, I would just have to deal with a tan line on my face, then.” Sakura nearly choked on her sip as she stared at him to shake her head.

“Always so stubborn.” She retorted before she looked back at her glass smiling.

They sat, sipping on her glasses for a quiet minute before Sakura began again.

“It got cold too, you know. During the day, I was usually with Gaara and Temari, but the nights were so boring. You couldn't do anything outside, not even take a walk because the winds were too strong and the temperature was too low. And with being alone in a strange country, I couldn't help thinking about you, Kakashi.”

Her eyes looked at his, holding his gaze until he was the one who broke away. He didn't say anything until she looked away from him.

I know this might make me a bad person, but thank you. I like that you missed me.

Kakashi knew he had to tell her.

He felt her press closer to him and he took his hand off her shoulder to pull his mask down. He didn't exactly wait for her reaction.

“Kakashi, is something wro-” He planted his mouth on her before she could finish her line. His hand moved forward to cup her jaw while his lips worked against her soft and supple ones. She responded immediately and Kakashi heard his heard beat a jagged rhythm. Sakura's hand went to hold the collar of his shirt, her fingers fiddling with the button as he kissed her. He could do this. Maybe, he wasn't always good with talking with her, but Kakashi knew he was a man of action more than anything.

He pulled away for a minute to gently push a lock of pink hair that had escaped her bun. He knew he could feel her breath graze his mouth when he quietly admitted to her.

“I missed you too, Sakura.”

The next thing he knew, he was kissing her harder than before. He didn't know if he had closed that final distance again or if her hand had pulled him to her again. When he heard her gasp into the kiss when his finger touched the hollow between her jaw and her ear, Kakashi knew he could do this.

It wasn't until Sakura pulled away from him when he thought there was something wrong.

“Would you hold on for a minute?” She took his glass from his hand.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked as she leaned away from him to place them on the table.

“What? No. That wasn't....no. Kakashi, you didn't do anything wrong.” Sakura seemed to be laughing and she scratched the side of her neck before she turned back to him, her lips quirked up in amusement.

If Kakashi didn't know better, he would call the way she was behaving as being embarrassed.

Her cheeks were tinged with pink and she turned to place her hands in his, while his thumb automatically began stroking her knuckles.

“Kakashi, I just think you should know something.” She said, her voice no more than a light whisper.

“Yeah?” He didn't exactly understand what she was so happy about when all he had done was kiss her.

“Yeah. I think you should know that I spilt a bit of my drink on your shirt.” Kakashi's eyes snapped down, and sure enough, there was a dark patch of wine-soaked shirt on his stomach. He plucked at it while Sakura laughed.

“I'm sorry, but you took me surprise and I didn't exactly hold my glass right,” she explained and Kakashi shook his head in mock disappointment.

“What do I do with you if you can't even handle your drink, Sakura?” he said, teasing her with a frown.

Her eyes narrowed in mirth when she used her hand to cup his cheek, her finger running over the beauty mark he had next to his mouth. She didn't answer him as she kissed him again. Kakashi wasn't complaining. He was far more interested in the pink-haired kunoichi kissing him so sensually that he could see stars.

Kakashi was the one to pull away when she leaned in, her chest brushing his, as he explained, “Maybe I should change out of this first. I doubt that you would want this on your clothes too.” His voice was a low murmur and he could feel his throat tightening as he said the words.

“Plus, I know that you like your shirt. It looks lovely on you.”

Sakura looked down as if she hadn't realized that her blouse was white and she smiled ruefully. “I wasn't exactly too bothered about getting something on it.”

Sakura's arms rested on his shoulders as her hands found their way into his hair. She gently scratched the base of his hairline at his neck and Kakashi felt his spine tingle deliciously.

How could she melt him into a pile of mush with anything she did?

Kakashi felt his mouth go dry and he knew if he didn't restrain himself, they would only end up making a mess.

“I think I'll just change into an old shirt I left here last time. If you tell me where it is, I'll get it myself.” Kakashi hated himself for pulling away from her and began standing up when she caught hold of his sleeve to halt him.

“Or you could just take this one off.”

Kakashi's eyes grew wide and he could feel his jaw fall slack. Sure, he had been shirtless in front of her, many times than he would admit, but those had been vastly different circumstances. He was usually bleeding out on her kitchen floor when he came back from missions and Sakura often had to cut or rip his shirts to get to his wounds. However, this time it would be different. He wouldn't have the threat of death.

What was wrong with him? Was he seriously comparing death in battle against an evening in with his girlfriend?

He wasn't exactly insecure about his body. Endlessly training all his life had made sure that he kept it in shape. He had a decent body and even though he didn't exactly practice as much taijutsu as Sakura did, he wasn't far behind.

Sakura didn't seem to waver her stare when he sunk back into the couch. He turned to her and looked at her for a moment before saying, “Or I could just take this one off.”

Sakura seemed to be having fun, looking at his gobsmacked expression while she trailed her hand down to fiddle with the button on his sleeve. She began planting soft kisses on his shoulder and Kakashi snapped to attention. Kami, if she did that on his skin...

He eased his arm out of her grip and began buttoning down when she caught his hand.

Here, it was. This was the part where she told him she was kidding.

Sakura pried his hands away from the first button that he managed to undo when she said, “If you wouldn't mind, I could help you.”

If lightning struck him right now, Kakashi knew it would be the equivalent of what struck his heart. This woman always threw him a curveball and for a genius like him, that didn't happen too many times.

Kakashi nodded his head and she deftly worked on his shirt, easing it off his shoulders. She tugged at the bottom of his masked undershirt and he was pulling it off his head in an instant. Sakura laughed as she asked him, “Too eager to get out of your clothes, Kakashi?”

But her hands and eyes said that she was more than pleased with her suggestion. Sakura reached for his face first as she soundly kissed him before asking with the slightest tone he had ever heard, “May I?”

Her hand hovered over his chest and Kakashi could only use his hand to press hers down on his heart as his nerve endings woke up to fire. He could feel heat down his spine and his heart stutter into a beat that was nowhere near normal. He was sure she could feel it trying to jump out of his throat.

Sakura trailed a hand over his chest before she trailed down lower. Kakashi waited until she looked back up at him when he asked, “Are you done ogling at me?”

“Not really, no.” Sakura smiled wider and locked her arms around his shoulders again.

“It isn't exactly something you haven't seen before,” Kakashi said quietly when she kissed him softly on his jaw.

“It's a lot I haven't seen before. Usually, there is blood instead of wine on you.”

Kakashi chuckled as he caught her lips in another kiss when he asked, “What if I had spilt that wine on you? Would you be in my position then?” He didn't wait for an answer as he placed a kiss on her eyebrow.

Kakashi swore he felt her stiffen as he placed another kiss on her cheekbone. Her hands had gone still too.

He pulled away to look at her face, but he couldn't read anything.

“Sakura, I was just joking. You don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with.” Kakashi placed a hand gently on her shoulders when she blinked, coming to attention.

“No! That's not it,” she said, as she looked back up at him, the ends of her mouth twitching with mirth. “I just never thought you would ask me and I would do it myself.”

Kakashi gave up. This woman would be the death of him and he would die in her arms happily.

He blinked and Sakura was already pulling her blouse off her shoulders. For his respect, shut his mouth as she dropped her top to her side.

Icha-Icha could never beat this.

Sakura had the perfect figure. She was built slight but Kakashi knew the strength that ran beneath her skin. Her light skin tone had been bronzed, thanks to the Suna sun. Her skin had no blemishes, no flaws. Her arms and shoulders were muscled and toned while her stomach was tight against her ribs. Kakashi knew that his fingers would fit perfectly in the gentle dips they made. She had a beautiful lace bra on, and suddenly, Kakashi knew why a colour, something that she had on her mouth during the date was so tempting. It was sinfully red.

Sakura looked heaven-sent.

Kakashi was a man who knew what he wanted. At the moment, we would digress that he wanted nothing more than to attach his lips on her neck and suck on the creamy white skin while she whimpered and ran her hands through his hair.

“Sweetheart, I know I'm stunning, but I would appreciate it if you said something.”

“Sakura, if I said anything, it would still be too less.” Kakashi didn't know where the words came from.

“Don't be so dramatic, Kakashi.” She brushed him off but with the pink on her cheeks, he knew she was more than pleased.

Kakashi chose not to retort as he angled her face up and placed his mouth on the hollow between her ear and jaw. Slowly, he trailed his lips down her neck, mapped her collarbone with gentle butterfly kisses and trailed back up. He repeated the circuit three times when he felt Sakura grab his shoulder, “If you're trying to tease me, I want you to know it is working.”

“I'm not you. A man can only take so much before he loses his senses, baby.” Kakashi lowered his hand to hover over her chest. “May I?” he asked, just like she had.

Sakura placed her hand over his and pressed his palm against the fabric. It wasn't anything but intimate. He just wanted to feel her heart.

And he knew it beat just as fast as his did.

He reached down to catch hold of her ankles to swing it to his other side, as he used the grip to pull her on to his lap so that her thighs were over his. He reached his other hand to curl around her back so much that his arm went around her slim body to rest his fingers on the gentle ridges of her ribs.

Sakura seemed perfectly content with the position as she rested her head on his shoulder and looked up to press gentle kisses on his jaw.

“Comfortable?” she asked, as her hand cradled his head.

“Quiet down, Sakura. I just want to kiss you for a while.” Kakashi didn't want to do anything just yet. Not this night, some other day perhaps. Tonight, he just wanted to feel her skin against his.

Kakashi wasn't in it for the sex. He knew that. Sakura didn't seem to be either. If getting to know each other without their shirts on was a part of it, he was more than happy to oblige.

The best part of this was that he wouldn't ever have to worry. He could be free to just have a night getting close to each other because Sakura wouldn't push him and neither would he. He was free to make it sexual if he wanted to, but with Sakura, there were no set boundaries, no set targets to reach. He could go with the flow of things or just pause to relish the present moment.

“How much do you like red?” Sakura repeated the question that had gotten them in the position.

Kakashi thought for a minute before leaning down to press his lips against hers.

Once.

Twice.

“I think I like pink much better.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first part of a five-piece work. I'll post them as I write during this trying time. I've been thinking and I had this idea of making a multi-chaptered relationship-centric story between Kakashi Hatake and Sakura Haruno. I hope you like this one, because this sets the premise for the rest too.


End file.
